Herbalife Ltd. Never Has An Activist Spend So Much Time And Money Trying To Destroy

I just got this letter via Fedex from Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) HQ – I am pretty sure this was sent to other members of media and they want it to be public so I am pasting the full letter below. We will contact Ackman for comment but assume it will be none.

Herbalife

Dear Jacob:
September 22, 2016
For close to four years, Bill Ackman has been engaged in an unprecedented campaign against my company. In fact, I’d venture to say that never in history have we seen an at activist investor spent so much time and money trying to destroy an American company.

I think we can agree that many activist investors May an important role in today’s society as their efforts often improve a company’s performance and can lead to growth, job creation and the strengthening of our economy as a whole. We should, however, be wary of activists who take a different approach — those who, instead of working to improve companies, recklessly seek to destroy them. It is these activists, that if left unchecked and without accountability, portend troubling future for our markets.

Given the unique nature of Ackman’s campaign, I understand why our story continues to be of interest to the media. The intense focus on Ackman’s crusade, however, has caused some to overlook the important work of our more than 8,000 employees and it members, which focused on improving people’s lives.

For example, most people do not realize that we are the number one brand in the world in weight management with nearly 8 million customers in the U.S. alone recently purchasing an Herbalifealite product. With obesity rates climbing around the globe, our mission — to offer high-quality products, one-on-one coaching and the ability to be part of a community that inspires people to live a healthy, active life — has never been more important.

While much has been reported on Herbalife, very few have taken the time to truly understand out company and the issues at hand. Roger Parloff at Fortune spent nine months studying the facts about Herbalife, and the New York Times also spent considerable time in an effort to better understand the reality of the situation. I encourage you to read their articles as they help provide a solid foundation for the narrative. Yet, suffice to say that there is a lot more to the story than can lie explained in 15-second sound bites.

We did not ask to be a part of this saga and I look forward to the day when the only news about our company is how we are helping people around the world become healthier. I can only hope that you will want to cover that story as much as you have enjoyed following Ackman’s antics. In the meantime, I know that this matter is not over. Therefore, you can be certain that we will continue to do everything we can to protect our company and, importantly, to ensure that the truth is known.
All my best,